I read about 50 pages and thought that was enough as I didn't expect the book to improve. It's a shallow, rambling account of events wherein the author strokes his own ego but no one else's.

I'm not a right wing Republican but I enjoyed John Bolton's book. It is tedious and boring because it's a behind the scenes peak at the inner workings of the Trump Adminsitration. Bolton is a Washington insider with lots of experience. I thought his book well written and a wonderful resource for history students or political science majors. He interacted with Trump daily from April 2018 - Sept. 2019.

Bolton's writing style is clear and easy to read but includes a lot of political details the average person like myself is not familiar with. He also goes into detailed complexities that exist in international dealings. It is interesting but a bit like reading a "how to" manual on tonsillectomies. Yes it can be done but why?

Bolton served in the U.S. Army as a young man i.e. Fort Polk La. This makes him more relatable. At Yale Law he was two years behind Bill and Hilary Clinton. Bolton has a sense of humor but you have to be alert to it. His humor breaks up the tedium of the subject at large. I'm glad I read his book and recommend it to others. If nothing else it will give insight into the difficult dealings the government must contend with.

To deal constructively with the books' volume of pages (500) read a little bit daily. Or single out specific issues you may be interested in. Ukraine, Venezuela, Russia, It's all in the book.

The Room Where It happened was an interesting book to say the least. It delved deep into all the errors and problems within the Trump Administration and Bolton even talks about how hard it was for him to be Trump’s National Security Advisor. The book had the right idea but just the wrong content. The book was bland and dull when it came to engagement and as many other people pointed out it's nearly impossible to get through the whole book without getting bored ! Bolton adds a lot of rubbish information that adds nothing to the main points that he is trying to bring out. If you are highly educated in the field of politics then this book may suit you but if not then this is not the book for you !

The Room Where It Happened by John Bolton is the book in which John Bolton tells his story about his tenure as the national security advisor. In each chapter, he covers a different story on topics such as Russia, China, North Korea, and more. My favorite chapter was chapter 11 in which Bolton discussed the talks with North Korea. I am impressed by his ability to show the internal disorder of the administration, the president’s tweeting, how the president’s tweeting affects the administration, and the president’s behavior. However, at some points, I feel that his political beliefs may cloud his depiction of the administration’s actions. I worry whether or not Bolton is a trustable narrator, but I do not feel that he is purposely trying to mislead readers. I think this is a great book for teenagers and adults. It’s very long and is filled with stories that suck you in and fascinate you, but after reading the book you may feel disappointed that this is not fiction.

Decent book, first hand account of working with Trump from a conservative from the Bush41 era. Bolton's account comes off as genuine and accurate, and in this account Trump comes off as a dip sh*t. I dislike Bolton less than I did before, and I am glad he wrote this account for us to consider.

Too much Bolton, and not enough new reveal about life in the Trump administration. He should have testified not withheld this information

I really tried to read this book straight through but it is just not possible! So, I then tried reading it in chunks, but didn't too do well then either. He just starts in the middle of stories and if you know nothing of the area or situation he refers to , you are lost. I really can't recommend this book unless you have maybe a PhD in geography.

Bolton is almost as pompous and bellicose as Trump himself. Couldn't get past 50 pages it was so boring. Bolton tries to reference some classical and other well known material to make himself look a lot more intelligent than he really is. Can't understand why the library had to buy 10 extra copies. The interest in 'train wreck' Trump will drop off sharply after he loses the election on November 3rd.

Oh my God. I made several attempts at reading this book, but it was like eating cardboard. A waste of 20 bucks. Although I'm sure that he had a point or two to make, it got lost in his wordings and self admiration. This is a half star rating but cannot change it from the 2 star posted here???? I didn't even select a star rating...just assigned to me.

Maybe worth reading just to understand Bolton's very conservative world view, but the book is not an easy read. Fog index rates the grade level of a book based on length of sentences and complexity of words. I did not do the math but this book is off the scale... probably up in the Ph.D. or Doctorate level. Too many unnecessary quotes of obscure academics and other sources. Bolton is trying too hard to impress us with his erudition. I will admit that he is smarter than Trump, but so are most collage graduates. The whole book could be summed up as, "I gave good advice. Trump ignored it. Trump is not qualified to be president."